As the month has turned, I did the first of my two May Breeding Bird Surveys for Cheshire Wildlife Trust on Friday. This time is was the turn of the Bagmere reserve. It was a bright sunny morning for the survey although a chilly breeze didn’t make it completely comfortable. After working at the site last Sunday with the Crewe & Nantwich Conservation Volunteers (CNCV), I had high hopes for recording some new species (or at least new to records). On Sunday, we noted a very clear grasshopper warbler and I had a probable garden warbler but unfortunately neither were present when I did the survey yesterday. It was also disappointing not to record willow tit, which have now not be seen or heard for the last four survey visits and at least two CNCV tasks.

I took my SLR camera with me in the hope of getting some nice shots of some of the birds but none were particularly obliging although this reed bunting did allow me to get quite close.

When I visit sites to do the bird surveys I usually also record other wildlife too and yesterday again saw a couple of brown hares, which are a regular sight for the reserve. When we visited with CNCV in the winter, there were hare prints in the snow all over the fields surrounding the site.

With one survey visit left to Bagmere for this year’s Breeding Bird Surveys, I’m only four species behind the total for last year. With the new species seen last sunday, the species list for the site has now grown to 53 since January last year.